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Being a municipal court clerk, for me, meant living a little on the edge right from the start. I mean, from the very first day. I stepped into a position that had been hastily vacated so there was no one to “break” me in or explain even how a municipal court works. I had been in one, once, for a traffic violation years before. I had not worked for any court before. I had worked for an attorney and more recently as a dispatcher for the local police department, so I did possess some skill and familiarity with the documents sent to court. At first I felt like a swimmer underwater, making the motions to get somewhere but in water so murky I couldn’t tell if I was going where I wanted to. Eventually things became clear enough that I was able to set up for my first court session, and the many that were to follow in the next couple years.
The work was always a challenge, meeting the deadlines, making sure all paperwork was in order, collecting payments or arranging work for those who did not have money, all from a part-time position. I got to know people in our community very well. Then the city suffered budget problems and pink slips were sent out. One was for me. For a single mom that was a lot of pressure.
Fortunately, I had made some really good friendships while working for the city, and one was our mayor. During that difficult time I might, at any unsuspecting time, find an unsigned note quoting a scripture of encouragement. These notes did so much to lift my dragging spirits and much later I found out that the mayor had left them. Before my last day on the job, he did another encouraging thing; he let me know of a job opening that I could apply for. I had already been hard on the pursuit of finding another job, but I landed the one he had suggested and our friendship was growing. You see, he worked the night shift at the same place. He also was a single parent.
One day I decided to leave a sticky note (you know, the little yellow ones) just to say “hi” and I stuck it on my computer screen, knowing that my friend would be in the office to do paperwork later that night. Next morning I arrived at my desk and, yes, there was a note of response. Made my day. Sometimes I would even find pieces of candy hidden just for me to find.
So began a wonderful friendship, sharing many conversations around our common plight of single parenting and always much about our faith. Now, almost 21 years later, we still delight in conversations of our daily lives as a married couple and our walk with the Lord; a true friendship’s dream.
There are many more details I could share here, like our first date (a total disaster), but I think I will save that for perhaps another challenge.
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